Friday, January 27, 2017

Facebook5TwitterGoogle+Mumbai, 27th January, 2017: Justice Chinnasamy Swaminathan Karnan of Culcutta High Court and formerly of Madras High Court, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take action against “high corruption at the judiciary”. In his letter dated 23rdJanuary, 2017, Justice CS Karnan furnished the prime minister with “an initial list of corrupt judges”, and in addition, three other officers of Madras High Court, who he implied had detailed knowledge and proof of the corrupt acts of the 20 judges. Justice Karnan asked for all these persons to be “interrogated by the officers of the Central Agencies” – probably referring to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

a) Is Justice CS Karnan a judge a nutcase – a man with impaired mental functioning? If so, what constitutional safeguards does the nation have to remove him, to prevent him from damaging the reputation and function of the higher judiciary?

b) Alternatively, is Justice CS Karnan a whistleblower revealing rampant corruption in Madras High Court and Supreme Court? If so, what constitutional mechanisms does India have to conduct proper investigation of his allegations?

Read Justice CS Karnan’s letter to the Prime Minister below:

The judges named in this letter are mostly Justice Karnan’s former colleagues, namely:

Justice V Dhanapalan of Madras High Court, with whom CS Karnan had a public quarrel.

Justice MM Sundresh of Madras High Court

Justice N Kirubakaran of Madras High Court

Justice S Nagamuthu of Madras High Court

Justice T Raja of Madras High Court

Justice M Sathyanarayan of Madras High Court

So, in the light of this letter, let us consider whether Karnan is a raving nutcase that the judiciary is unable to rid itself of.Is justice Karnan a living proof of the fact that there is almost no way of getting rid of a bad or incompetent judge?

Or is Karnan a whistleblower exposing the corruption of Indian judiciary, and deserving of the respect and gratitude of all Indian citizens? And therefore, is he a living proof of the fact that even a High Court judge cannot bring corrupt judges to justice?

The jury is still out on that one.

ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BYKrishnaraj Rao9821588114krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

Posted in Public Interest by Sulaiman Bhimani 9323642081 sulaimanbhimani11@gmail.com

Ashok Amritraj appointed UN in India Goodwill Ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals:

New Delhi, 27 January 2017: Award-winning Hollywood film producer and Wimbledon tennis player, Ashok Amritraj has been appointed the United Nations in India Goodwill Ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Chairman and CEO of the Hyde Park Entertainment Group, Mr. Amritraj is the first Ambassador for the UN in India.

An internationally-renowned iconic filmmaker, Ashok Amritraj has made over 100 films during the span of his 30-year extraordinary career garnering global acclaim as well as worldwide revenues in excess of $2 billion. He has been a pioneering force in bridging India and Hollywood through film and media.

Accepting the honour, Mr. Amritraj said, “I look forward to working with the United Nations in India to amplify awareness about the SDGs. It is a tremendous opportunity that brings together my personal desire to serve the country of my birth, and my passion to leverage the power of the media for the creation of diverse, socially-relevant content”.

Welcoming Mr. Amritraj to the UN Family, Yuri Afanasiev, UN Resident Coordinator said, “We look forward to working with Mr. Amritraj as a powerful advocate for the SDGs, and to his support in showcasing innovations and cutting-edge solutions to development challenges that are being generated in India”.

In September 2015, at the UN General Assembly, 193 countries adopted arguably the most ambitious global agenda of our times, The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – a plan of action for people, planet, prosperity and peace. India played an important role in shaping the global agenda and is critical to its success.

Communications and advocacy which engage governments, organizations and rights holders in a constructive dialogue to advance the SDGs is important. UN Goodwill Ambassadors aim to generate momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and to foster engagement of new stakeholders in the implementation of these Goals.

A passionate believer in the power of the media to effect social change, Mr. Amritraj produced and hosted the acclaimed series, ‘Chance of a Lifetime’ in partnership with the UNHQ in which young filmmakers from Asia competed to create original, short stories highlighting issues related to water, HIV/AIDS, gender equality, migration and education. The winners were feted at the Cannes Film Festival.

Mr. Ashok Amritraj will be in conversation with Mr. Yuri Afanasiev, United Nations Resident Coordinator at the UN Young Changemakers Conclave on Saturday, 28 January, details of which are available athttp://www.youngchangemakersco nclave.in/

About the UN in India:

The United Nations has a long history of close co-operation with the Government of India and today the United Nations system in India includes 26 organisations that have the privilege to serve in the country. For more information visit: www.in.one.un.orgêTwitter: @UNinIndia êFacebook: UnitedNationsIndia

Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research is delighted to share the second batch of its 2017 Budget Brief series in the run up to the Government of India’s budget to be presented on February 1, 2017.

In this batch we are circulating briefs for the following: Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban, the Direct Benefit Transfer, Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile, and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

Like every year, the budget brief series focus on analysing trends in allocations, expenditures and government reported outputs and outcomes for key social sector schemes run by the Government of India. This year’s briefs cover the following schemes: Direct Benefit Transfers, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, National Health Mission, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Swacch Bharat Mission (Gramin and Urban) and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna.

Additionally, in the run up to the budget, we have published several opinion pieces in the mainstream media. Click hereto read. Also watch a short animation video on how the government spends its money.

The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched by the Government of India on 25 December, 2000 to provide all-weather road connectivity in rural areas. Click here to read

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is Government of India’s initiative to transfer cash benefits for government schemes directly into bank accounts of beneficiaries through electronic systemsClick here to read